Decided to revisit my Sinnoh gym leader redesign concepts to see if I could update them to my current style! Here is each character and some extra artist notes abt their design and personality:
Roark:
I revamped his mining uniform to make it look more safe and realistic. His former outfit just looked too plain, so I added more colours too.
Roark doesn't have much in the way of a personality. This version of Roark has him considerably more stoic. He takes his job very seriously, in an attempt to rival his father's level of professionalism.
(His Key Stone is mounted on his helmet's flashlight).
Gardenia:
I like Gardenia's design a lot, but I wanted to give it a bit more flair, so I put flowers all over her and spruced up her hair a little.
This Gardenia is very sweet and cheerful, almost motherly. She definitely takes care of her friends and fellow gym leaders. And yes, she is still very much afraid of Ghosts.
Maylene:
I think Maylene's original design is pretty cool, but is missing something. I'm particularly mindful of her lack of protective gear when she is supposedly a fighter, and a very young one at that.
This Maylene is incredibly fiery and competitive. She's still very young, probably around 12-13, so her parents make her wear protective gear whenever she trains.
Crasher Wake:
I really like Crasher Wake as a character, giving to the disadvantaged and all, but I was never too fond of his design. Apparently it's supposed to resemble Empoleon, but I never got that vibe, so I changed his outfit up considerably to better reflect that.
This Wake is mostly the same, a fierce fighter who gives his prize money to those less fortunate, much like real luchadores. I imagine he's a hit with kids all over the Sinnoh region.
Fantina:
I love Fantina, but I've heard more than a few people remark on her hair looking more than a little silly, so I tried to rectify that. I also tried to accentuate the Drifblim influence with her dress by giving her those ribbons.
This Fantina is also largely the same, maybe a little flirtatious toward her friends. Definitely spends hours doing her hair and makeup so she's perfect for the contests.
Byron:
There's not a whole lot to Byron's original design, but I did like the sort of gruff and carefree image the games and anime give him, so I tried to amplify those features in the design, keeping the messy hair and thick eyebrows.
This Byron is definitely a typical 'dad'. Loves to crack jokes and show off his physical prowess. Probably treats his Bastiodon like a large puppy.
Candice:
Candice's design confuses me a little. She's in the coldest part of the Sinnoh region where it constantly snows, but all she has are a shirt, a skirt and some socks. Of course, I took the opportunity to glam up her design and accentuate her fashion-forward and girly personality.
This Candice is still quite similar. Perhaps a little airheaded, constantly chasing romance and trends. Almost certainly Maylene's girlfriend too.
Volkner:
I love Volkner, but once you've looked at his design enough it starts to become a little boring. I like it but I've seen it so many times. He's a sad white boy with blond hair and blue eyes. Too much about him is conventional, so I tried to make it more interesting. I tried to spin his conventionally attractive features into a more interesting concept by giving him albinism, and also tried to glamorise his jacket to make it more appealing to look at. On the back of his jacket is a large Wi-Fi esque symbol that isn't visible here, but was on his original redesign.
This boy is definitely still sad, but probably has more to it than just a lack of strong challengers. I imagine he has a lot of underlying resentment toward his best friend, Flint, for abandoning him to join the elites and only coming back once people began to notice he was suffering from burnout. This would probably come to a head in the story of the game, where the two argue and have a Very Gay™ reconciliation. I think he'd also be neurodivergent; the ball in his hands is actually a stim toy he made himself to fidget and tinker with wherever he goes.
(His Key Stone is on the back of his left glove).
Let me know what you think!
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Sinnoh Gym Leader Headcanons Pt 1:
Roark:
- has a, dare i say, “rocky” relationship with his father. originally his father wanted riley to take over orebourgh’s gym, but since he rejected it roark was his second choice. he’s still kind of bitter over it and likes to rebel. (i.e “my dad told me not to do this” *does the thing directly after*)
- every fossil that the other miners find is double-checked by roark because he knows his shit.
- when he was in orebourgh trainer’s school he would be that kid moaning in the back of his class bc he thinks that’s peak comedy. also because he knows it’ll piss his dad off.
Gardenia:
- gardenia can interact with fantina’s ghosts without crying, and that’s it. one time, she tried to interact with cynthia’s spiritomb. it took the elite four and cynthia thirty minutes to calm the girl down.
- yes she loves plants but she’s also a piercer hear me out she can definitely do piercings she’d be that girl that gives other girls piercings in the school bathroom.
- is eterna’s local weed dealer. not as good as morty’s shit, but volkner tells her she’s getting there. cynthia definitely knows but looks the other way.
Maylene:
- maylene had her first kiss with aaron at age seven, as they were childhood friends. they both exclaimed “ew!” as soon as their lips touched.
- her mom left her when she was twelve bc of her dad’s gambling problem. her dad was never home which left her in the care of her grandmother. she’s angry over this. so, so angry. but cynthia tells her one day that she herself was raised by her grandmother, too – and look at her now: sinnoh’s champion. this inspires maylene to train harder.
- it was rumored in veilstone that maylene’s hands were made of pure steel which is why she could punch so hard. one time as if to prove this rumor, flint asked her to punch him in the stomach as hard as she could. the league had to shut down for the day as flint recovered in the hospital. it was awkward to explain to the doctors and nurses as to what happened. no, flint did not want to press charges but he’s terribly embarrassed. aaron tried to warn him, so he figures he deserved this outcome.
Crasher Wake:
- wake did wrestling shows that were in the style of a drama (think, WWE) and would come up with the most outrageous storylines.
- was the kid that beat up bullies at his trainer’s school bc “two against one isn’t fair” and, “pick on someone your own size.”
- frequently challenges byron and fantina to a drinking contest after gym hours, and he almost always loses. but when he wins, he’ll throw his hands up, and then promptly pass out.
Fantina:
- when she was ten, she marched up to her parents and told her that she wanted to be called “fantina” from now on. her parents welcomed their daughter with open arms.
- is Kalosian, which according to the sinnoh league members would explain why she can hold her liquor so well. she usually comes out on top in those drinking contests between wake and byron.
- is the most widely known coordinator around the world. you could go to an island with no electricity and the children and elders knew the name “fantina dumont.” if you were fortunate enough to go to one of her shows, you would see paramedics on standby because when she sent out her Drifblim a few people would pass out in awe, not fright.
Byron:
- before he married his wife: byron shot his friend in the ass with a BB gun by accident, went to hoenn with his buddies and they got kicked out from every single bar by staging fights so they wouldn’t have to pay for drinks, and swam from johto to kanto after he and his friends flipped a police car and were being chased. he drops random stories like this at league meetings and everyone stares in bewilderment – including his own son because what the hell dad wdym you dropped acid with the champion of Unova once???
- occasionally stars as a guest in one of wake’s wrestling shows. they play lovers having a quarrel before wake tackles the shit out of him.
- during canalave’s yearly pride parade he is the one giving dad hugs because “even when i was a kid, men have always had men… y’know, i had a buddy once, back in the mines… and he was a little off to the side, but he was damn good with a pickaxe. had a beer with his husband once.”
Candice:
- snowpoint city in the sinnoh region is known as the “home of the yodelers.” on top of being the gym leader, candice is the best damn yodeler that snowpoint has ever seen.
- she also had a reputation as a little girl for throwing snowballs at visitors from another region before declaring sinnoh was the best.
- if you want gossip, candice will spill all the details. she knows everything about everyone. no one is more up to speed about who’s-sleeping-with-who, who-cheated-on-who, and how Stacy Cambridge from her trainer school definitely got a nose job and yes, it’s definitely noticeable. no one really asks for her gossip, but she blabs it at the league meetings anyway.
Volkner:
- smokes a pack of cigarettes a day. one time to be cheeky at a league meeting he lights one up, therefore cynthia threw him out – which was what he wanted so thank you cynthia.
- has been on so many fucking antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds throughout his life that he’s basically an expert on them. a lot of the younger gym leaders and elites (i.e gardenia, aaron, candice, roark, and maylene) are depressed and/or anxious and lets them know his own experiences with meds.
- when he was a kid, though he wasn’t a sunyshore hoodlum, he did learn how to use a pocket knife. not that he ever needed it since he had a pikachu to thunderbolt the motherfuckers if he wanted to.
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